Huffing Paint Near Tracks

Two Oklahoma men were arrested for inhaling paint fumes on Friday. A call was made to the local police about suspicious activity next to the railroad tracks, and when officers arrived at the scene they saw Logan Leroy, 47, and Eren Kendall Nance, 37. Then,

Responding Officer Brad Rhoads said Leroy was extremely unsteady on his feet and his speech was extremely slurred. Leroy had silver and gold paint around his mouth and on his hands. Leroy was arrested on suspicion of violating the Inhalation Act, Rhoads said.

Nance took off running but was soon apprehended by two other officers. Nance was also unsteady on his feet and had paint around his mouth and hands, Rhoads said. During a pat-down search of Nance, police found a baggy containing what they believe to be marijuana. Nance was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana, drug paraphernalia and violating the Inhalation Act.

One reason that gold and silver spray paints are more widely used than other paints is because they contain a higher concentration of toluene. Toluene is absorbed quickly by the brain, heart, liver, heart, and other organs. It is one of the more dangerous inhalants, causing such medical problems as:

• Loss of brain tissue
• Brain toxicity
• Mental impairment, loss of coordination
• Heart arrhythmia
• Hearing and vision loss
• Lung injuries
• Fetal malformation
• Miscarriage
• Premature birth